


Gay Glitter™

by boogers



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Anxiety, Dancing, Drinking, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, super minor violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 14:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13483215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boogers/pseuds/boogers
Summary: Dennis goes to the local gay bar out of curiosity.





	Gay Glitter™

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place after Hero or Hate Crime and in a perfect world in which Dennis' Double Life never happened  
> warning theres descriptions of anxiety/panic throughout so if youre sensitive to that please read in a safe setting !  
> also some homophobia, no slurs or anything but it may be upsetting  
> theres also technically an oc but hes only at the very beginning and has a minor role

It's been one month since Mac came out of the closet and one month since Dennis had last gotten laid. 

He sits uncomfortably on a bar stool at The Rainbow, the local gay bar. Watching the bartender tending to the man two seats away from him, he rehearses his order in his head. _One shot of tequila and whatever's your favorite, baby._ Everything about the situation felt wrong. He shifts to cross his legs, then immediately uncrosses them. The bartender makes eye contact and smiles, holding up a finger to let him know he'll be with him in a moment. He crosses his legs again and let out a shaky breath, looking the bartender up and down as he serves the other customer his drinks. If he was going to flirt with a man, he lucked out with this one. With a thin body, smooth skin and a pretty face, it would be easy to convince himself he was talking to a girl if necessary. Dennis clears his throat as the man leans his elbow on the bar in front of him. 

"Sorry about the wait, hun. What can I get you?" He smiled and held strong eye contact with Dennis. 

"Two shots of tequila and whatever's your favorite." At least he didn’t stutter. 

"Sure thing" The man pours the shots and turns away to make his favorite drink. Dennis looks around and notices he was now the only one at the bar. He downs both shots in an instant and wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans. When the bartender turns back to him, he presents Dennis with the mystery drink and puts away the empty shot glasses. 

"Finished these quick. Rough night?" The bartender chuckled. 

"I guess, yeah." Dennis forced a laugh as well. "So, what is this?" He asks, pointing to the drink. 

"Haven't named it yet. Try it though, I promise it's good." 

Dennis eyes the glass. It's round with a thin stem, filled with pink liquid. An orange slice sitting on the edge, accompanied by a rainbow flag toothpick for decoration. He grabs it and sips while maintaining eye contact with the man. 

Licking his lips, he says, "It's sweet." 

"More vodka?" 

"Please." Dennis winks. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought. 

While pouring more alcohol into the drink, he continues talking. "This your first time here? I'm on most nights but never seen you around." 

"Yeah. Not really into the bar scene." He lies. 

"What's your name?" 

"Brian." Another lie. 

"Single?" 

Dennis was taken aback by how forward the man was, but answers casually. "Yes," 

He leans in as a familiar voice shouts louder than necessary behind him, "Tim! Thirsty!" The bartender turns to respond as Dennis goes rigid. He looks out of the corner of his eye as the loud man leans his elbows on the bar beside him. 

The bartender responds in monotone, clearly annoyed to have been interrupted, "What'll it be, Mac?" 

Dennis' blood runs cold and he moves to get up and run away as fast as he can. 

"I want whatever this guy's got. Dude, what is that?" Dennis felt Mac's hand on his arm as he stood. Without turning to face him, Dennis mumbles, "You can have it", hoping he won't be recognized. Unfortunately for him, Mac would know that voice anywhere. The hand on his arm clenches as he says, "Den?" 

Dennis froze for a moment, weighing his options. He could pull away, let Mac think he was mistaken, pretend he was never here at all. He could punch Mac in the face and run. He could laugh in Mac's face for being at a gay bar, turn the shame around on him. He could say he just came to look for his roommate. Before he could make his decision, Mac grabs him, spins him around and yells, "Dude, what are you doing here?" 

Dennis goes directly into defensive mode. "What are you doing here? I thought you went to the gym on Saturday nights." 

He watched as Mac's face went red and he self-consciously wiped some purple glitter off of his forehead, despite being covered head to toe in it. "Oh, right. I lied about that. I was lying before I came out and forgot to change my excuse." 

"You're lying to me? What the hell, man?" Dennis knows the anger is not necessary but goes with it anyway, hoping it would distract his friend. 

The bartender hesitantly chimes in. "Hey, is everything all right here?" 

"Yeah, sorry, Tim. I know this guy. Also, I want his drink." Mac responded. 

The bartender, Tim, turns to make the drink, giving the men some space. 

"So, why are you at a gay bar, dude?" Mac asks quietly. 

"It's- like- I'm here to get girls, man. I'm trying a new thing." 

"You're picking up chicks at a gay men's bar?" 

"Well, you know how girls are with gay men. They want, uh... They come with their gay best friends for a night out. Obviously, they're gonna flock to the only straight man around." Dennis impresses himself with the quick excuse. He'll have to come back sometime and see if there's any truth to his bullshit. 

"Oh." Mac seems to buy into the excuse for a second, until, "Not much of a flock here, though. Not anything, actually." 

"It's a slow night." 

"It's a Saturday." 

Mac watched as Dennis took a long drink. He notices his hand around the glass shaking and the sweat running down his face. He hasn't seen him this anxious in a while, since before he went on his meds. Before he can say anything, Tim interrupts them again. 

"Here you go, Mac." He hands the drink over while looking at the other man. "Can I help you with anything else, hun?" He reaches out to run his hand down Dennis' arm. 

"I-I'm all good, thanks." He pulls his arm away. Tim saw this rejection as a sign to leave. 

Mac takes Dennis aside and speaks into his ear. "Tim seems really into you." 

He visibly shivers and snaps back, "He's a bartender. They flirt for tips." 

"He's not like that with me, though." He's not sure if the jealousy he's feeling is because someone else is flirting with Dennis, or because someone is into Dennis but not into him. Either way, he needs to get far away from Tim. 

"Are you okay, Dennis? You want to get some fresh air?" 

Dennis flinches. He can't breathe but he'd rather die than be alone with Mac's questions right now. "Dance." 

"What?" 

"I like this song. Let's dance." He grabs his drink and makes his way into the crowd on the dance floor. 

Mac has to hurry to catch up with him, but after paying Tim, finds Dennis in the sea of dancing men. He watches him sway back and forth to the Carly Rae Jepsen song playing loudly. He looks ridiculous and it takes all of Mac's power not to make fun of him for it. 

Mac comes up to him and starts dancing. His intense arm movements and hip shaking make it seem insincere when he asks, "What's wrong, dude?" but Dennis isn't listening anyway. 

As the songs change and get more intense, the crowd does as well. Bodies get closer together, dance moves become more sensual, and Dennis' heart beats faster. He tries to ignore the anxiety, but his glass is empty and men are touching him and Mac is staring. He turns around and closes his eyes, tries to focus on the music and the movement around him and his body begins to move naturally. His knees bend, arms raise and hips move in circles. His heart never slows, but he is no longer worried about whether or not he's still breathing. With his eyes closed, he can't see Mac watching, and if he can't see it, it's not happening. 

One man grinds on his left side and one on his back. When his eyes open, he sees a couple laughing and moving together in front of him. He looks to his left and notices the one pushing on his side is doing so while making out with another. He starts to feel pathetic and alone even with the man on his back. The grinding behind him is constant and he tries to imagine it's a woman but that makes him feel worse. 

Suddenly, a wave of anxiety hits him and his heart stops when the lights dim and slow music begins to play. Looking around, he watches as people partner up and it reminds him of the awful high school dances he never had a date to. He doesn't recognize the song, but he hates it. 

Two large hands grab his waist from behind and he can no longer convince himself that it’s a woman. He tries to step forward to slip out of the grasp but the hands spin him around and he sees that of course, it's Mac. Who else would it be? 

"You still alright?" Mac whispers as he brings their bodies together and begins swaying to the music. 

"No." 

"You wanna leave?" 

Dennis' stomach drops. "No." 

"Okay." 

They continue to dance. It's not graceful, and they both know they look like children, hugging and shifting their weight from left to right stiffly, but they continue anyway. When the song ends and the couples around them separate, Dennis immediately detaches and steps back. Mac tries to act casual and keep dancing, nearly elbowing Dennis' face with his rapid arm movements. 

Mac almost doesn't hear him when Dennis says, "I don't feel safe." 

He immediately stops moving to ask, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" 

Dennis rolls his eyes and says, "Your dancing. I feel like I'm gonna get hit." 

Mac sighs with relief and laughs too loudly. Dennis grabs his shoulder and says, "I give up. Let's get some air." 

They make their way through the crowd to an exit and step into the alley. The cold air isn't bad but the sharp contrast from the heat from the bar bites at Dennis' skin and doubles his shaking. He slides down and sits against the brick wall of the bar, stretching out his legs. Mac sits with him, way too close. Dennis shifts several inches away. Mac immediately closes the gap again. He feels Mac's concerned gaze on him and tries to find something to say. 

"Fucking cold out." 

"Not really." 

"Well, I'm fucking cold." Dennis folds in on himself and runs his hands up and down his arms in an attempt to stop their shaking. It doesn't help. 

Mac's loud voice suddenly interrupts the silence. "Dennis, are you gay?" 

"I'm obviously not gay, Mac." 

"Bi, then? Like, d'you like guys? Is that why you're here?" Dennis opens his mouth to interrupt but Mac continues. "I come here a lot and the only girls I've seen are lesbians. I mean, I didn't talk to them, but they seem like it- is that homophobic? _Lesbophobic?_ Dennis, you're gay, aren't you?" 

Dennis finally manages to interject and shouts, "I'm not gay!" His voice lowers, "I just came for- out of curiosity, okay? Just wanted to see what it's like, y'know? You came out and... I started thinking. Everything's all fucked up and- and-" 

Mac quietly encouraged, "It's okay." 

"I've been thinking about it. I don't know." 

"That’s okay." 

Dennis suddenly throws his head back and hits the wall. "I hate this." 

Mac tries to help the only way he knows how. "God doesn't mind if you're gay. He made you that way. He loves you." 

"Oh, good. I was worried about what _God_ was going to think." 

An uncomfortable silence falls on them for a few minutes. Mac scoots closer to Dennis so there is no gap between them, letting his thigh fall against his friend's. In the light outside, Mac notices some of the purple glitter he's wearing has transferred onto Dennis. His hair, his forehead, the collar of his shirt all sparkles, temporary proof that they've touched. 

Dennis tries to subtly do the deep breathing exercises his psychiatrist had taught him, but without the dramatic, perfect posture, closed eyes, 'O'-mouth technique, it not very effective. He breathes out a shaky laugh and whispers, "This is fucking pathetic." 

"What is?" Mac asked. 

"Questioning your sexuality at age 40. What's the point? I feel like a fucking child." 

"Watch it, dude. I came out at 40, are you calling me pathetic?" 

His voice grew louder, "Yeah, I am. It's pathetic, Mac. I'm above this! I'm above all of those disgusting people. I'm-" Dennis was interrupted by a fist colliding with his eye socket. 

Mac hisses and pulls his hand back, shaking off the pain. He hadn't meant to hit his eye but went with it anyway. Dennis yells as he clutches his face. "What the fuck, Mac? Ow!" 

Mac stands up to look down on him as he yells, "Fuck you, dude! You're not above me, you're not above gay people. I'm not going to sit here and listen to one of your 'Golden God' speeches." 

Dennis looks up at Mac and mumbles something incoherent. His eyes were watering as mascara ran down his cheeks and tears left streaks through his foundation. Mac curses and bends down to look at him. 

"Sorry I got heated. You can't say that shit, though. I don't know why you're being so defensive towards me anyway. Not like I can judge you." Mac tries to speak softly but he was still angry. 

Dennis took a deep breath before responding, "I don’t know." 

Mac returns to his position beside him and sighs. "Your eye okay?" 

"Dunno. How's it look?" He turns to show his injury. Its bright red and beginning to swell where the knuckles hit. 

"You look like shit, dude." He laughs. "Gonna be awful tomorrow." He cups his cheek and begins swiping the tears away with his thumb as gently as he can, which wasn't very gentle, but Dennis endures it. 

Dennis stares at Mac's face through all the water in his eyes. He's not sure if he's gay or not, but he definitely thinks Mac is pretty for a guy. In his tired thoughts, one desire makes itself known: _I want to kiss him._ Mac has made it clear many times throughout their friendship that this is something he wants too. He knows now isn't a great time, but if Mac gets to punch him, he should get to kiss him. 

He leans forward on one hand and lifts the other to cup his face, mirroring Mac's grasp on his own. Mac starts to question what he was doing, but Dennis' lips on the side of his mouth interrupt him. Dennis pulls back to get a better angle and Mac responds this time, meeting him halfway. It's not even close to some of the better kisses they've both had, but it's soft and warm and relaxing in such a tense moment. 

It's great, until Mac's mouth pulls into a giant smile, teeth and all. Dennis is annoyed, for a second, thinking he's being laughed at until he looks into his eyes and the happiness translates and Dennis is smiling too. Mac apologizes and tries to stop so they can keep kissing but he's too giddy. He reaches for Dennis' face again, pulls him in, gives his eye a soft kiss and says, "Thank you".

**Author's Note:**

> can u tell im a baby and never been to a bar before  
> i did this in like 2 hours when i usually write over like 2 days so theres probably some mistakes. please let me know if i typoed or used wrong grammar and how i can improve next time ! :^)  
> my iasip tumblr is @ ricketycricks


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